Wednesday, 31 May 2017

I attended an organ recital a few
days ago at the Glasgow University Memorial Chapel. The organist was the
Italian-born Sergio Orabona. Included in his splendid recital were the 'Allegro
maestoso' from Louis Vierne’s Symphonie n.3, Eduardo Torres’ captivating 'Impresión
Teresiana' and three pieces taken from Marcel Dupré’s 7 Pieces op.27. Also featured
were the Italian composer Marco Enrico Bossi’s well-known Scherzo, op.49 no.2
and Simon Preston’s powerful Toccata (2012).

The penultimate work in the recital
was Enrico Pasini’s Cantabile No.2 ‘For you – baia di calamonica’. At least
that was what was written on the programme. After research, I found that this
was a ‘misprint.’ As I understand, Pasini resided for some time in Cagliari
on the Isle of Sardinia. Near to his home, there is a small inlet that is actually
called ‘baia di calamosca.’ It is this romantic and picturesque spot that has
clearly inspired this lovely piece. Look it up on the internet.

I know very little about Enrico
Pasini (b.1934), save that he had a penchant for writing music marked to be
played ‘Cantabile.’ He, seemingly, has written dozens of pieces with this
title. This simply means played in ‘a singing style.’

Listen to a splendid performance of this
piece by Sergio Orabona played on the organ of the Madeleine Church, Paris on May 14, 2017.

The work has been arranged by the composer (or others) for
flute, piano solo, organ and trombone and even a version for singer and
orchestra.

Finally, I overheard one of the
concert-goers suggest that it was ‘just a bit of slush’, however I felt that it
was an attractive and thoroughly well-wrought ‘bit of slush.’ It deserves its
place in the repertoire of all organists.

Sunday, 28 May 2017

Whilst in Glasgow the other day,
I discovered (and purchased) an old vinyl LP (Goehr, Maxwell Davies, Williamson
& Rodney Bennett) from Mixed Up Records in Otago Street, near Glasgow
University. It was one of a series of LPs sponsored by the Gulbenkian Foundation
and issued by EMI. Investigating, I can find only 8 albums issued in this
series. I list them below. The series as it stands makes for an interesting exploration
of mid-twentieth century music. Many of these pieces are available on YouTube
and some have been reissued on CD. A
number of these works are British (I include the émigré composer from Spain,
Roberto Gerhard in this category) however there is a French album as well as
works by a diverse range of European composers.

I wonder if readers of this blog
know of any further releases that I have missed?

Thursday, 25 May 2017

A short profile I wrote for last year’s (2016) bi-centenary of William
Sterndale Bennett's birth, which was not used at the time.

William Sterndale Bennett was an
important all-round musician: he was the missing link between Purcell and the
English Musical Renaissance which burst into life with Parry and Stanford in
the latter half of the nineteenth century, and continues to this day. In recent
years his achievement as a composer has been re-evaluated, and it has been
discovered that he was much more significant than musical historians had allowed.
Sterndale Bennett was influenced by Mozart rather than Liszt and Chopin: his
music invariably retained a classical poise. However, he was the most prominent
romantic English composer of his day. It is this restraint, coupled with a
lively and poetic imagination, well-constructed melodies and satisfying formal
structures that listeners can appreciate and enjoy today.

Sterndale Bennett’s music was
long regarded as derivative. He has been
described as the ‘English Mendelssohn’, which meant he became obscured behind
the German’s genius. Moreover, his
musical style did not develop to any great extent during his composing career.
There was a lull in his output after 1842 when he was much in demand as a
teacher, conductor and musicologist. George
Bernard Shaw notes that Sterndale Bennett was ‘extinguished as a composer by
having to teach five-finger exercises to fashionable young ladies…’ Not
altogether accurate, but we get the point. In his later years, Sterndale
Bennett began to recapture something of his youthful passion for composition,
resulting in the oratorio The Women of
Samara, op.44 (1867) and a wonderful Second Symphony in G minor, op.43
(1863-4).

William Sterndale Bennett was
born in Sheffield on 13 April 1816. Aged only eight years old, he was admitted
as a chorister at King’s College, Cambridge. He began to attend the Royal Academy of Music,
just before his tenth birthday. His teachers included William Crotch, William
Henry Holmes and Cipriani Potter. Whilst
at the RAM he composed his Piano Concerto in D minor, op.1, which, in 1833
brought him to the attention of Felix Mendelssohn. In 1836 Sterndale Bennett travelled to
Dusseldorf and Leipzig where he became friends with Mendelssohn and Robert
Schumann. He continued with his travels until 1842.

On return to English musical life,
Sterndale Bennett began to make a career from teaching and recital work. From
1856-1866 he was the Principal Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra. Other appointments included
Professor of Music at Cambridge University and from 1866 he was Principal at
his alma mater, the Royal Academy of Music.

One his most important
achievements was the founding of the Bach Society in 1849. Sterndale Bennett
introduced the St Matthew Passion to
the United Kingdom. He edited music by
Bach and Handel for publication.

In 1871 Sterndale Bennett was
knighted for services to music.

Much of Sterndale Bennett’s music
has fallen by the wayside. Once-standard works included the pastoral cantata The May Queen, op.39 which was first
heard at the 1858 Leeds Festival. The oratorio The Women of Samaria, op.44was
premiered at the Birmingham Festival in 1867 and retained its popularity into
the twentieth century. In 2016 Sterndale
Bennett is chiefly recalled for his five piano concertos (there is a sixth, yet
unrecorded) and selected orchestral works, including some overtures and the
fine Symphony in G minor. The small number of piano and chamber works that have
been recorded allow listeners to hear a different side of his achievement. A
few hymns, anthems and songs just manage to cling on in the repertoire.

William Sterndale Bennett died in
London on 1 February 1875. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.

A quarter of William Sterndale
Bennet’s published compositions have been recorded. The listener is able to
make a worthwhile estimate at this composer’s achievement.

Some works to listen to:

Overture: Naiades,
op.15 (1836) (Lyrita
SRCD.206)

Overture:
The Wood Nymphs, op.20 (1838) (Lyrita SRCD.206)

Piano
Concerto No.4 in F minor, op.19 (1838) (Hyperion
CDA67595)

Symphony
in G minor, op.43 (1863-4) (Lyrita SRCD.206)

Sextetpiano, two violins, viola, cello and contrabass
(or second cello), op.8 (1835) (Marco Polo, 8.223304) N.B. This recording has
been deleted, but can be downloaded digitally)

If the listener can only hear a
single work, I would recommend the Piano Concerto No.4 in F minor, op.43. It
has been said that with his piano concertos, William Sterndale Bennett provided
the musical link between those of Beethoven and Brahms.

The works include some of my favourite
Ireland pieces, including the relatively rarely heard ‘Green Ways’: Three Lyric
Pieces which were composed in 1937. I guess that this work needs most
introduction.

The first piece, ‘The Cherry Tree’ with
its Housman-inspired title, is a little forlorn. ‘Loveliest of Trees’ was one
of Ireland’s favourite poems. Rarely can a meditation on the transience of life
have been presented with such concise, sad and fundamentally beautiful words.
This is perfectly replicated in the music. It originally appeared in 1932 as ‘Indian
Summer’ and was revised for publication as part of Green Ways. For some reason, ‘The Cherry Tree’ was
dedicated to Ireland’s legal advisor Herbert S. Brown; he was a talented
amateur musician.

The second piece, ‘Cypress’, was dedicated
to the composer’s accountant, Alfred Chenhalls. The cypress is associated with
death, the underworld and mourning. It is often found in church graveyards. The
music reflects Shakespeare’s words 'Come away, come away, death /And in sad
cypress let me be laid'. (Twelfth Night,
act ii scene iv). Ireland has created a suitably reflective piece. It was
originally entitled ‘The Intruder’ which may mean that death intrudes upon
life?

The last number of Green Ways is ‘The
Palm and May’ which takes its title from a line by the English poet Thomas
Nashe – ‘The Palm and the May make country houses gay’. I am not convinced that
the music is quite as gay and happy as the title implies: there is certainly a
touch of bitter-sweetness in these pages. It was dedicated to the pianist
Harriet Cohen.

Masters approaches these three pieces
with great compassion and thoughtfulness which echoes the varying, but largely
melancholic mood of the music.

The most significant work on this YouTube
recital is the impressive Piano Sonata (at around 9:16 on this recording). This
hugely demanding work was composed between 1918 and 1920 and is one of the
masterworks of the British (and World) piano repertoire. It is an immensely
powerful sonata that requires deep interpretative skills and a strong
technique. The basic temperament of this work is post-romantic, although there
are moments of pure impressionism and even nods to Stravinsky. The pianism owes
much to Brahms and Liszt, although the complex ‘added note’ harmonies are
entirely Ireland’s creation.

John Ireland once said that the first
movement of his Piano Sonata was about ‘life’, the second was ‘more ecstatic’
and the last was ‘inspired by a rough autumnal day on Chanctonbury Ring &
[the] old British Encampment’. I am not sure that the second movement is
‘ecstatic’ – to me it is introverted and thoughtful.

Any pianist tackling John Ireland’s
Piano Sonata must appreciate the deep mysteries invoked in this work. These
include the ‘supernatural’ impact of the author Arthur Machen on the composer
with the references to Chanctonbury Ring.

Richard Masters approaches this sonata
with great style and understanding: all the facets of Ireland’s art are present
here: ‘…the lyrical, the dramatic, the extrovert and the melancholy – the intense
self-questioning and the open, almost naïve, avowals.’ (Colin Scott-Sutherland,
‘John Ireland: A Life in Music’, The John
Ireland Companion. Boydell, 2011)

I had heard John Ireland’s evocative
piano piece ‘Chelsea Reach’ some time before I first journeyed from Glasgow to
London during the autumn of 1973. To my mind (at that time) this music summed
up all that I imagined this Thames-side location represented. For the record,
this ‘reach’ is the stretch of water between Chelsea Bridge and Battersea
Bridge. It passes Battersea Park, the Royal Hospital and Cheyne Walk, where
Vaughan William once lived. Ever since I first visited this part of the London,
I have never been disappointed. It has remained one of my iconic places in
London to explore, to enjoy a drink in and to simply appreciate. Richard
Masters eloquently captures every nuance of ‘Chelsea Reach’.

The other two pieces (not played here)
in the set of ‘London Pieces’ are thoroughly enjoyable too: ‘Ragamuffin’ is
perhaps a little more of its time, however ‘Soho Forenoons’ is delightfully
evocative of the atmosphere of that fascinating part of London -at almost any
time in its history.

The Ballade for solo piano was composed
around 1928. Although the narrative of the story is never revealed, it clearly
reflects the Machen-esque mood of much of Ireland’s music. It is a dark, lugubrious piece that is
typically austere and uncompromising. There is little warmth in the near
ten-minute duration. After a slow
opening, the music develops an intense idée fixee ‘a wild elemental climax
[follows] in which one senses the participation of unearthly forces.’
(Christopher Palmer, Liner Notes Lyrita SRCD 2277). The final bars do give a
sense of closure. This turmoil, intensity and tentative repose are well-controlled
in this recording by Richard Masters.

The pianist has told me that he thinks
he is the only American pianist to have played an all-John Ireland recital.
Without considerable historical investigation, I cannot prove him right or
wrong. However, I feel that the truth is probably with Masters. Let us hope
that he records many more pieces by John Ireland and his contemporaries
(Farjeon, Livens et al).

Friday, 19 May 2017

A listing of
20 pieces of music that are descriptive or evocative of London. I have presented
the works in chronological order.

The geographical
location has been stretched to include Hampton Court. Most of these works have
been recorded, some many times. However, I understand that the Mackenzie and
the Walford Davies are not [yet] available. Opportunity knocks?

With thanks
to Lewis and Susan Foreman’s essential book, London: A Musical Gazeteer, Yale
University Press, 2005) which acted as an excellent aide-memoire when I was
writing this post.

The listener
should note that there are plenty more pieces that I could have listed: perhaps
a further 20 in a future post.

Edward Elgar:
Cockaigne Overture (In London Town) (1900-1)

Alexander Campbell
Mackenzie: London Day by Day Suite (‘Under the Clock’, ‘Merry Mayfair’, ‘Song
of Thanksgiving’ and ‘Hampstead Heath’) (1902)

Tuesday, 16 May 2017

I think I heard first Anthony Hedges's: An Ayrshire Serenade, op.42 on a Radio Three broadcast during my
school holidays in 1972. The title appealed to me. As a Glaswegian, I was regularly
taken to that fine county on day trips to the seaside. When I re-discovered the
workon CD, I wondered how Anthony
Hedges, born in Bicester, Oxfordshire (b.1931) and now a highly regarded ‘Hull
composer’ ended up writing a delightful piece of music with all the freshness
of a holiday on the Clyde Coast. I knew that he had written several
‘topographical pieces’ such as the evocative Humber Suite, the Kingston
Sketches and the Breton Sketches.
But why Ayrshire?

The answer is Craigie College of Education, Ayr. This was a teacher
training establishment which has subsequently merged to become one of the
campuses of the University of the West of Scotland. Hedges’s Serenade
was commissioned by the college in 1969 and was first performed by the Ayrshire
Symphony Orchestra in May 1971. This
amateur band was formed in 1920 and gave its first concert the following year.
The orchestra is still going strong: their Spring Concert was held on 26 March
(2017).

For anyone looking for ‘Scottish music’ in this Serenade, I think that
they will be disappointed: there is barely a Scots snap to be heard. One
reviewer has suggested that the work is based on three ‘local’ tunes: I am not
convinced. The Serenade is evocative
of this lovely county in an abstract way.

I have been fortunate to have explored Ayrshire from top to bottom and
side to side. It is the Birthplace of Scotland’s great poet Robert Burns, as
well as being a popular holiday destination. The scenery is varied: from the bleak
Galloway Hills to the golf links near the sea, from the rich dairy farmland to
the harbours of Troon and Ardrossan. There
are great houses, such as Culzean and Blairquhan Castles which demand to be
explored. Industry-wise, clearly farming
is still important. Coal mining has disappeared; however, Prestwick Airport has
attracted several aerospace companies. Golf is vital here too, with five of the
United Kingdom’s top 100 courses within the county.

The opening, ‘allegro moderato’, of An Ayrshire Serenade is full of energy with a wayward tune and
‘unexpected harmonic twists and turns.’ It
immediately sets the tone of the work. The second movement, ‘andantino’ is a
sad and pensive little piece: the main burden of the music is given to a solo
oboe, playing a wistful tune. Although written in the minor key the music ends
on a positive, major chord. It is a lovely piece. Again, there is nothing particularly
Scottish about this music.

The finale (Molto vivace) is full of all the verve of a traditional holiday
by the sea. Ayrshire’s beaches at Troon, Largs (pebbles), Ayr, and Girvan are
inviting for swimming (cold!), paddling, shrimping, beach games and sunshine –
well, at least for some of summertime. Hedges has presented an tangible picture
of all this excitement, even if the Ayrshire Coast was not in his mind.

Paul Conway (MusicWeb International) has written that ‘it is hard to
find any evidence of programme music here but the composer's personality is
stamped on every bar...’ Hence it does not major in misty dales, wide seascapes
and local festivities. It is a piece of absolute music.

The Gramophone (Ivan March, September
2000) suggests that the Serenade is ‘a most winningly lyrical triptych. It has
an oboe solo for its centrepiece and a catchy, almost Walton-esque syncopated
close.’

Ian Lace (MusicWeb International, June 2000) has written that Anthony
Hedges' ‘An Ayrshire Serenade is
a…vibrant and colourfully kaleidoscopic invention that takes the music on a
longish journey, through many styles from its Scottish roots.’ Rob Barnett on
the same website (May 2007) proposed that: ‘Hedges' Ayrshire Serenade…is not especially
Scottish - more closely echoing the light and the dark of Ayr's scenery - some
of it in Sibelian desolation - at least in the central movement. There is a
touch of all-purpose English celebration in the finale but it's skilled and
personable writing.’

The only recording of this work was released on British Light Music
Discoveries, (ASV White Line, CD WHL 2126 in 1999. The first movement can be heard on Anthony
Hedges’s SoundCloud page.

Saturday, 13 May 2017

I recently posted about
an early version of Lennox Berkeley’s Divertimento recorded in 1948. Alec
Robertson writing in The Year’s Work in
Music, 1948-49 noted several works recorded under the auspices of the
British Council. These included: Alan Bush’s ‘Dialectic’ for string quartet,
Michael Tippet’s String Quartet No.2 in F sharp, Charles Hubert Hastings
Parry’s Blest Pair of Sirens for
chorus and orchestra, the present Divertimento and Arnold Bax’s The Garden of Fand. This last piece was
performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Thomas
Beecham (1879-1961)

Alec Robertson wrote:

‘Bax’s Garden of Fand has for long been one of Sir Thomas Beecham’s
favourite pieces; and to say that means we are likely to be given a superlative
performance of it on records. This is indeed the case in his recording with the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and those of us who heard Sir Thomas conduct the
work at his seventieth birthday concert last May will feel glad that our
friends overseas can hear his masterly interpretation of this romantic music.

The Garden of Fand is the
sea, but, as the composer tells us on the score, the tone-poem has no special
relation to the Celtic legend which inspired it. Bax adds that he seeks, in the
earlier portion of the work, to create the atmosphere of an enchanted Atlantic
completely calm beneath the spell of the Other World and he goes on to tell of
the immense wave that tossed a boat and its occupants on to the shore of the
Lady Fand’s miraculous island where they dance and feast. Then Fand sings her
song of immortal love enchaining the hearts of her hearers for ever, and
finally, we learn that the sea overwhelms the whole island and the human beings
on it, while the immortals, like the Rhinemaidens in Götterdämmerung, laugh at
the foolish mortals now lost in its depths. Twilight falls, and the sea
subsides, and Fand’s garden fades out of sight.

The varied colours of the orchestration – which includes two harps,
celesta, glockenspiel, and cymbals – are beautifully reproduced in this
well-balanced recording, which is never too loud.’

Note:

Beecham’s 70th birthday concert was the second of two
events: one held in Liverpool on 27 April 1949 and the other at the Royal
Albert Hall on 2 May 1949. This latter concert, which was sponsored by the Daily Telegraph included, as well Bax’s The Garden of Fand, Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart’s Symphony No.35 ‘Haffner’ K.385, Frederick Delius’s Sea-Drift with Gordon Clinton (baritone)
and the Luton Choral Society, Richard Strauss’s Dance of the Seven Veils from Salome, Jean Sibelius’s Tapiola, op.112
and Hector Berlioz’s Trojan March, from The
Trojans. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by Beecham.

Sir Thomas Beecham had recorded Bax’s The Garden of Fand in London on 14 December 1947 at the No.1
Studio, Abbey Road, London. The other work recorded that day was Richard
Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben. Fand
was released on 78 rpm discs (HMV DB 6654-6655). Subsequent releases included LP
EMI HQM 1165, ‘The Beecham Legacy, Volume 9’ (1968) and CD EMI CDM 7 63405 2.
The most recent incarnation of this work would appear to be included in the EMI
Sir Thomas Beecham English Music collection EMI CLASSICS 9099152.

Wednesday, 10 May 2017

Leaning over the rail of the ship with a glass of chilled
vin blanc in my hand, I slipped past the beautiful Corsican town of Bonifacio.
This wonderfully sited village, high up on the cliffs at the southern end of
Corsica is justly famous as a tourist attraction. I thought of Trevor Duncan’s
idyllic short tone poem -The Girl from Corsicaand wondered if this was where she
came from? Out of interest, Bonifacio is the setting of Guy de Maupassant's
macabre short story, ‘A Vendetta’ which is well worth reading. It certainly
does not reflect the beauties of the Corsican coast...

Anecdotally, Trevor Duncan (real name Leonard Charles Trebilco 1924-2005)met a certainMademoiselleon holiday
one year. The history books do not tell us if the tryst took place in Corsica,
the Auvergne where she lived or maybe even the Isle of Wight. Apparently, she
was half-French, half-Corsican, but may herself have been on holiday in
England. The relationship between them, so Duncan insisted, was ‘spiritual’ but
it is obvious from even the least attentive hearing of the music that she made
a considerable impression on him! The same lady inspired another wonderful
tone-picture from Duncan’s pen,St
Boniface Down.This work
‘celebrates a silent walk along the ridge of St. Boniface Down; it was followed
by a beautiful correspondence for some weeks.’ I posted about this inJune
2008.

The Girl from Corsicawas composed around 1959 and is wistful work packed full
of sultry and sensual beauty. Wherever Trevor Duncan met her, he has transposed
the setting to the ‘sunny south.’ In fact, there is even a hint of North Africa
about this music. So maybe, like Webster’s Dictionary, Duncan was Morocco-Bound
when he met this bewitching young lady? The work ends ‘suspended on an
unresolved chord’ so who knows what the true story really was?

The tune was used in theserialThe
Scarf,by Francis Durbridge
(1959) which was a murder mystery.

The Girl from Corsicahasbeen recorded several times. A shortened version was made
popular by Ron Goodwin in hisAdventure Albumissued
in 1966. Guild Light Music Classics has issued it onThe Golden Age of
Light Music, A Trip to the Library, withThe New Concert Orchestra conducted by Cedric Dumont
(GLCD5164). The full version, a full minute
and a half longer is available on Hyperion CA 67148 with Ronald Corp conducting
The New London Orchestra. Another great recording is on the retrospective of
Trevor Duncan’s music, performed by Andrew Penny and the Slovak Radio
Symphony Orchestra on Marco Polo 8.223517. Once again this is the long
version.

Sunday, 7 May 2017

I have never been a fan of
Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes. It
has just never appealed to me. Friends of mine would say that my problem is
that I have never got beyond G&S’s The
Pirates of Penzance and Iolanthe
in my operatic tastes, and there may be some truth in that! On the other hand,
I do recognise the importance of Grimes
as ushering in a glorious new age of operatic endeavour in post-war (1945)
Britain. Ronald Stevenson has written: ‘Peter
Grimes is the living conflict. His pride, ambition, and urge for independence
fight with his need for love: his self-love battles against his self-hate…’

The basic contention of this Fantasy is the juxtaposition of
quotations of storm music symbolising the aggression of the crowd with the
haunting ‘Dawn Interlude’ to reflect the drowning of Grimes at sea in the early
morning. The Fantasy is a microcosm
of the entire opera, presented in just over seven minutes. Stevenson’s music is
complex and demanding making use of a Lisztian thesaurus of technical devices.

I have always loved the Four Sea Interludes and Passacaglia arranged by Britten from the
score. For me this is Peter Grimes in
a digestible form. Ronald Stevenson’s Fantasy
gives me another ‘take’ on this opera which I find equally satisfying.

The Peter Grimes Fantasy was composed in 1971 for the pianist Graham
Johnson.

The Three Scottish Ballads (1973)
are a little less troubling for the listener, in spite of the violent nature of
some of the original texts. Stevenson selected two ballads included in Sir Walter
Scott’s Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border
(1802-3). The tunes he has sourced from elsewhere. The first is about Lord
Randall who committed patricide at his mother’s bidding, whilst the ‘Dowie Dens
O’ Yarrow’ is a tale of collusion, cowardice and murder. The final ‘ballad’ is
based on ‘The Newhaven Fishwife’s Cry.’ Stevenson’s approach to these pieces is
not to write a tone-poem on each ballad, but simply to transcribe the tune to
give a general impression of the impact of the tale.

The Beltane Bonfire was commissioned by the Scottish International
Piano Competition as a test piece for the 1990 competition. The work was
completed in ‘early summer 1989’ and was first performed by Nigel Hutchinson in
the Purcell Room on 6 February 1990. Out
of interest Beltane is the Gaelic May Day Festival held in the Celtic parts of
the United Kingdom. One of the events was the driving of cattle past the
bonfires as part of a purification ceremony. Stevenson has represented this by
a slow ‘winding fugue.’ Other interesting allusions are to Chopin’s famous A
flat Polonaise and the ‘Trial by Fire’ from Mozart’s Magic Flute. The listener must look out for plucked piano strings
‘imitating the clàrsach or Scottish harp.’ It is a great piece that is hugely
demanding for the soloist, both in its technical requirements and the eclectic
interpretive skills required to bring it off successfully. It is certainly a worthy ‘test piece’, way
beyond my Grade 6½.

I guess I could say a lot about Hugh MacDiarmid as a Scottish journalist, essayist, poet, and political
figure. As a Scot, myself I do have a
great sympathy with his literary style. His political ratiocinations and
personality are less appealing (to me).

Ronald Stevenson’s ‘Heroic Song’ was commissioned by the
BBC to mark MacDiarmid’s 75th birthday. The two men were good
friends and shared many political opinions. The work contrasts a medieval
Scottish New Year song with a misty portrayal of the ‘high hills, of space and
solitude…’ The work is designed to present a musical evocation of ‘The Poet
Speaks’, ‘The Poet Laughs’ and ‘The Poet Dreams.’ The music balances an acerbic sound (MacDiarmid’s
notable high pitched laugh?) with something that is more numinous.

Stevenson’s Symphonic Elegy for Liszt is a deeply
wrought work full of musical and even literary allusions and quotations. Hamilton
explains in the liner notes that Stevenson’s model was not the Liszt of the
Hungarian Rhapsodies or the Opera Fantasias: it reflected the composer’s later
works such as the Venetian La Lugubre
Gondola elegies, being altogether dark, gloomy and introverted.

The overarching form of Stevenson’s piece is a massive
‘barcarolle’, the traditional folk-song rhythm of Venice. Added to the mix is a
tune that is quite Scottish in its sound, complete with ‘snaps.’ This makes the
work Scotto-Hungarian-Venetian in its imagery.
Other allusions include Chopin’s ‘Funeral March’ from the Second Piano Sonata
and Liszt’s own Piano Sonata. Clearly this is a complex, technically difficult work,
although as noted above not obviously virtuosic. The overall effect is
reflective, as if Liszt looking back on his career, from a detached point of
view. Venice is, I believe, always at the forefront of this piece. Both Liszt
and Stevenson loved this great city. The
Elegy was composed to mark the centenary of Franz Liszt’s death in 1986.

The Chorale and Fugue in Reverse
on Themes of Robert and Clara Schumann was composed in 1979. It is a
very short, but tightly structured piece. The ‘reverse’ in the title implies
that the music progresses from the ‘coda, final entries and stretto’ to the fugal
exposition: from intensity to repose. The chorale, which is based on the words
‘Everything transient is merely a parable’ from Schumann’s Scenes of Faust, is presented in distortion. It is wrapped round
the beginning and end of the fugue. A quotation of Clara Schumann’s song
‘Secret Whispers here and there’ is also ‘slyly introduced.

I have remarked before that
Stevenson is in the trajectory of the great romantic virtuoso pianists such as Ferruccio
Busoni, Leopold Godowsky, Percy Grainger and Paderewski.
Going further back in time, Liszt is also an important influence. One of the common
features of these men was that they were composers of vast amounts of piano
music. Their catalogues include much original music but also many
transcriptions, arrangements and paraphrases of other composers’ music. Ronald
Stevenson is no exception to this very important, but sometimes controversial
adjunct to music-making. It is not the forum to accurately define these three
genres, safe to say that there is considerable blurring around the edges.

The Ivor Novello ‘We’ll Gather
Lilacs’ is a beautiful arrangement of the song. Stevenson cleverly and deftly
includes an accompaniment figuration from Rachmaninov’s song ‘Lilacs’ included
in that composer’s Twelve Songs op.21 no.5. It is good that Kenneth Hamilton
has presented Rachmaninov’s original piece as a ‘prelude’ to the Stevenson
transcription. Stevenson’s Tauberiana is a realisation of Ricard
Tauber’s ‘My Heart and I’ from his musical Old
Chelsea. Itis a splendid arrangement
of this lovely tune, represented by a ‘hushed reminiscence’ of the waltz tune,
followed by a sweeping, ball room version.

Still reflecting other composer’s
music, the Three Elizabethan Pieces after John Bull (1562 or 1563–15 March
1628) include a Pavan, a Galliard and a Jig, all found in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. They were
transcribed in 1950. Stevenson’s achievement here is to balance a romanticised
reinterpretation of this 16/17th century music as seen through the
eyes of Busoni where the all the modern resources of the ‘struck’ grand piano
are brought to bear against the ‘plucked’ virginal of Bull’s time. It is a
style that may not appeal to enthusiasts of historical instruments, but there
is no doubting the impact of these three pieces. The Jig is especially
exhilarating.

I found that the sound quality is excellent on this disc,
although I did feel the piano was just a little bit brittle at times. The liner
notes are first class: Hamilton has provided a major essay about these varied
piano works. Like so many inserts these days, I found the text small and hard
to read. There is no recording date
given.

I relished this first volume of Kenneth
Hamilton’s exploration of Ronald Stevenson’s music. The selection of music
presented on this disc barely overlaps with the first two volumes of
Christopher Guild’s edition of the piano music on Toccata (TOCC0272 and
TOCC0388). The only work in common is the Three Scottish Ballads (1973).
Equally, the programme on Murray McLachlan’s three-CD survey on DIVINE ART
RECORDS DDA21372 does not conflict.

Based on the imaginative,
inspiring and technically demanding performances on this present disc, I do hope
that ‘Volume 1’ is the first of a large edition of Ronald Stevenson’s piano
music.Glancing at the catalogue of
original and transcribed piano works in Ronald
Stevenson: The Man and his Music (ed. Colin Scott-Sutherland, Toccata
Press, 2005) there is plenty material to be recorded.

Thursday, 4 May 2017

Michael Hermann’s invaluable A Discography of CDs and LPs (British
Orchestral Music)
published on MusicWeb International, lists two versions of Lennox
Berkeley’s attractive Divertimento. The
first noted is an LP dating from 1968: Igor Buketoff and the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra playing Bax’s Overture to a
Picaresque Comedy and Richard Rodney Bennett’s rarely heard Symphony No. 1.
(RCA VICTOR SB-6730).

The second version in Hermann’s
listings is the one that I first discovered the work on: Lyrita SRCS.74. This
LP was issued in 1975 and included the Serenade for strings, op.12, the Partita
for chamber orchestra, op.66 and the Canzonetta (Sinfonia Concertante op.84).
The London Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by the composer. It was re-released on CD (SRCD.226) in 2007. This
additionally included the Berkeley/Britten collaboration ‘Mont Juic’ and the Symphony
No. 3 in one movement, op. 74

I recently discovered an
earlier version of Berkeley’s Divertimento. Alec Robertson writing in The Year’s Work in Music, 1948-49 noted several
works recorded under the auspices of the British Council. These included: Alan
Bush’s ‘Dialectic’ for string quartet, Michael Tippet’s String Quartet No.2 in
F sharp, Arnold Bax’s The Garden of Fand,
Charles Hubert Hastings Parry’s Blest
Pair of Sirens for chorus and orchestra and the present Divertimento in B
flat. This last work was performed by
the London Chamber Orchestra was conducted by Anthony Bernard.

Anthony Bernard
(1891-1963) was an English conductor, organist, pianist and composer. The London
Chamber Orchestra was founded by Barnard in 1921 and is still going strong: Christopher
Warren-Green is the present musical director.

Lennox Berkeley’s Divertimento
for orchestra in B Flat Major op. 18 was commissioned by the BBC and is dedicated
to his teacher, the redoubtable Nadia Boulanger. It is written in four
movements: Prelude, Nocturne, Scherzo and Rondo. The work was premiered at the
Bedford Corn Exchange on 1 October 1943 by the BBC Orchestra conducted by
Clarence Raybould. The Divertimento has been well summed up by the music critic
Alan Frank, who considers that Berkeley found ‘a light way of expressing
serious…illuminated by a Latin clarity.’

Alec Robertson (op.cit.)
writes about the Divertimento: 'Lennox Berkeley’s
Divertimento in B flat is, at least in the outer two movements, an excellent
answer to the objection that the contemporary composer leaves out so many
things that people enjoy and includes so many that they do not. These two
movements are gay, tuneful, and scored with the clarity Berkeley must surely
have learnt in his studies with Nadia Boulanger.

What one expects from a
work called Divertimento is less apparent in the episodic and rather melancholy
slow movement, and in the somewhat mordant [astringent] scherzo, very
interesting and effective though these are. Anthony Bernard and the London
Chamber Orchestra give a most musical and brilliantly played account of the
work, and the recording is a complete success in every respect.’

Listeners are lucky that
the YouTube channel ‘Shellackophile’ has uploaded this recording.
The details are: Recorded March 23, 1948, under the auspices of the
British Council, in Decca's West Hampstead Studios, London, on 78-rpm matrices
AR 12089 through AR 12092. Issued as English Decca K 1882 and 1883 during August
1948. Timings for each movement are given on the web page. The good news is that the same YouTube Channel
has Igor Buketoff’s version of Berkeley’s Divertimento as
well. Perhaps more about that recording in another post.

Monday, 1 May 2017

I first came across the music of Jim Parker in the wonderful record
made with the late John Betjeman, Banana
Blush. I remember feeling that the poetry and the music were a perfect
match for each other. Since that time, despite not being an avid watcher of
television, I have seen Parker’s name in TV credits for programmes as diverse
as House of Cards, The House of Elliot, Foyle’s War and Midsomer Murders. For the concert hall, there is a splendid
Clarinet Concerto, the wonderful A Londoner
in New York for brass and Mississippi
Five for wind quintet.

I am beholden to the liner notes written by the composer for all
information about these four works.

A South American Journey is
based on an imaginary visit to that continent. The work was originally
conceived for recorder and harpsichord. The music celebrates the life of the
late Stephen Dodgson, and was commissioned by John Turner, who plays the
recorder in this recording. Parker has rescored the work for ‘forces available,’
which includes string quartet, harp, double bass and recorders.

The Journey has five
contrasting movements, all sporting Spanish titles: ‘Tango Cinco’, ‘Pueblo
Tranquilo’, ‘Volando’, ‘La Cometa’ and ‘Rapido.’ It is a thoroughly enjoyable
suite that creates an excellent Latin American atmosphere. There is much
splendid virtuosic playing by John Turner.

Stephane Grappelli was one of the ‘greats’ of popular music. Along
with Jean "Django" Reinhardt, he is best recalled for the
performances and recordings made with the legendary Quintette du Hot Club de
France. Jim Parker’s Bonjour M. Grappelli
is written for string quartet and seeks to emulate the great man’s playing
style without being pastiche. There are four well-balanced movements. The first
introduces the tune ‘High Rise Blues’ which began life with the Barrow Poets in
1972. The second, an ‘Elegy’ is quiet and thoughtful. It is dedicated to the
late Celia Sheen, the Theremin player in the Midsomer Murder TV series. It had a previous life as the theme tune
to a forgotten TV series Body and Soul.
‘Hurdy Gurdy’ was originally used in a
musical for BBC TV called Petticoat Lane.
I love the way the second violin plays (deliberately) a tone flat at the
beginning and end of this piece. The final movement, ‘Au Revoir M Grappelli’
revisits the blues tune, with some quite romantic and thoughtful playing.

The Three Diversions were first heard at the opening of the Ida
Carroll Walkway at the Royal Northern College of Music. Once again Parker has
made use of themes he wrote for television. Listeners will recognise the tune
in the final movement, ‘A Leave Taking’. It is based on the traditional song
‘The Leaving of Liverpool’. It was composed in memory of Anthony Hopkins,
composer, pianist, musicologist and conductor. The other two Diversions are a
lively ‘Spring Dance’ and a meditative ‘Paean.’ There is a definite Irish feel with
much of this music. Fab! The work is scored for string quartet, recorders,
double bass and harp.

The final work on this imaginative CD is Hoofers, written for oboe and piano. The pieces are quite
disconnected in titles and imagery, but make a satisfying suite. The first is
in praise of the ‘Flying Scotsman’ named train running between London Kings
Cross and Edinburgh. Parker has created an effective train sound. The second piece is ‘Banjolele’, which
derived its inspiration from P.G. Wodehouse’s Bertie Wooster. The protagonist
was evicted from several lodgings because of his attachment to this instrument
and his desire to master its intricacies. Even Jeeves walks out. No banjolele
here, just a jaunty little tune with a sprightly piano accompaniment. Next
comes ‘The Lonely Ballerina’ which is another reworking of a theme from Midsomer Murders. More of a reflection
about a life well danced than a depiction of a night at the ballet. Quite
charming. The finale is the eponymous ‘Hoofers’: about a troop of dancers in Paris. The music
is appropriate for a depiction of Hoofers – dancers. A great way to conclude
the fascinating CD. The playing is simply superb.

Typically, the liner notes are excellent and give all relevant details
about the music performed. There are also brief notes about the composer and
the artists, but no names given for the players in the Solem Quartet. I located
them in the ‘net.

It is unfortunate that dates for each work have not been given. This
problem was not solved with a Google search. Even the composer’s date of birth
is not included. I do believe that this information is very important to many
listeners.

This is a fantastic CD. It is full of imaginative, interesting and
well-wrought music that has the distinct advantage of being totally
approachable and enjoyable. Jim Parker has a unique voice in music that manages
to seamlessly cross the divide between popular, classical and light.

About Me

I am well over fifty years old: the end of the run of baby boomers! I was born in Glasgow, moving south to York in the late ‘seventies. I now work in London.
My main interest is British Music from the nineteenth century onwards.
I love the ‘arch-typical’ English countryside – and have always wanted to ‘Go West, Boy’.
A. E. Housman and the ‘Georgian’ poets are a huge influence on my aesthetic. I have spent much of my life looking for the ‘Land of Lost Content’ and only occasionally glimpsed it…somewhere in…???
My recently published work includes essays on Ivor Gurney’s song ‘On Wenlock Edge’ for the Gurney Society Journal, The Music of Marion Scott and a study of Janet Hamilton’s songs for the British Music Society Journal, and the composer Muriel Herbert for the Housman Society.
I have contributed to the journals of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, the Finzi Society, and the Bliss Society, the Berkeley Society, the BMS Newsletter and regular CD reviews for MusicWeb International.